Does peru collect fingerprints on arrival tourists

1. What “collection on arrival” means in practice: the TAM and airport immigration routine

Travel guides and airport reports describe a virtual Andean Migration Card (TAM) that every air arrival at Jorge Chávez receives, and that digital TAM records include passport/ticket details plus a fingerprint and photograph captured by the immigration agent at entry before the passport is stamped ^{[1] [2] [3]}, indicating that fingerprint capture is part of the standard admission workflow rather than an exceptional security sweep.

2. Where the evidence comes from and how consistent it is

Multiple independent travel and guide sources — Lonely Planet, Esplanade Travel and local TAM advisories — state that fingerprints and photos are recorded electronically at immigration upon arrival ^{[3] [2] [1]}, showing consistency across travel-industry reporting; however the dataset provided does not include a direct citation from Peru’s official Migraciones website or an immigration policy document, so reporting relies on consistent secondary sources rather than a single published national regulation ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

3. Fingerprints beyond short visits: visa, residency and police checks

Separate from the arrival TAM, Peru’s immigration and police procedures for visas, residency claims and Interpol exchanges involve formal fingerprinting steps — for example, obtaining antecedentes or Interpol fichas requires rolled or ink fingerprints taken at DIRINCRI/DIVINCRI or other police offices and used in criminal-record or international exchange checks ^{[4] [5] [6]}, demonstrating that fingerprints are routine both at the border for admission and inside the system for longer-term identity or background processes.

4. Technology and format: electronic capture vs ink cards

Reports indicate a mix of methods: border entry workflows capture fingerprints electronically and photograph travelers during the TAM process ^{[2] [3]}, while other official procedures in Peru still use ink fingerprint cards such as FD-258/C-216C for legal and Interpol purposes ^{[6] [4]}, and Peru’s national ID and passport projects have pushed extensive biometric databases and match-on-card fingerprint systems for citizens, reflecting a broader national investment in biometric identity infrastructure ^{[7] [8]}.

5. What is known, what is inferred, and the limits of available reporting

The assembled sources consistently report fingerprints are captured at arrival via the TAM at major air ports like Lima and are collected for immigration admission ^{[1] [2] [3]}; nevertheless, without a primary Migraciones policy text in the provided reporting, there remains a limitation: specifics about which categories of travelers are fingerprinted, whether all international entry points use identical capture devices, or how long arrival fingerprints are retained and shared are not documented in the sources provided ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

6. Implications for travelers and final verdict

Practically, tourists should expect biometric capture (fingerprint + photo) as part of immigration processing on arrival in Peru, particularly at major airports using the virtual TAM, and should anticipate separate, formal fingerprinting if pursuing visas, residency or Interpol-related clearances while in Peru ^{[1] [2] [4] [5]}; the evidence from travel guides and immigration reporting therefore supports a clear answer: yes, Peru collects fingerprints on arriving tourists, though the finer legal and retention details are not covered by these sources ^{[1] [2] [3]}.